Las Vegas shooting: Jerad Miller adhered to 'Patriot' movement
Jerad and Amanda Miller 鈥� the couple who shot and killed two police officers at lunch and a third person in a Las Vegas Wal-Mart 鈥� were part of the 鈥淧atriot鈥� movement.
But their violent outburst, which ended with both of them dead, is atypical for an antigovernment movement that ranges from militias and tax protesters to those who consider themselves 鈥渟overeign citizens,鈥� plus those believing in various conspiracies involving big government encroachment on individual rights.
The Millers appear not to have been involved with any particular group. What鈥檚 known about their beliefs, and any plans that they might have had to act on those beliefs, comes mainly from Mr. Miller鈥檚 Facebook page 鈥� the kind of communicating that many like-minded individuals engage in in the age of social media.
But their beliefs come directly from the militia wing of the Patriot movement, says Mark Pitcavage, director of investigative research at the Anti-Defamation League, who has studied antigovernment radical groups for many years.
This includes the belief that the rest of the world has been taken over by a tyrannical one-world government dubbed the 鈥淣ew World Order,鈥� which seeks to strip everyone of their rights and freedoms, starting with the right to bear arms.
鈥淥nce we are rendered defenseless by our own government, [the United States] too will be absorbed into the New World Order,鈥� says Mr. Pitcavage in an e-mail, explaining the belief. 鈥淚f you examine Jerad Miller鈥檚 Facebook page, you will see his references to the New World Order, as well as all the subsidiary conspiracy theories: that the government will declare martial law, that it will or already has set up concentration camps for Americans, that there will be gun confiscation, that the government is poisoning the American people using chemtrails, etc.鈥�
The militia movement encompasses not only paramilitary group members, but all others who share its general ideology, Pitcavage adds. 鈥淸The Millers'] ideology and beliefs were not unusual for the Patriot movement. They simply had an extreme ideology and decided to act on it in a violent fashion,鈥� he says.
That violence seems to have been foretold on Mr. Miller鈥檚 Facebook page. On May 2 he posted:
鈥淭here is no greater cause to die for than liberty,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淵es, standing before despots is dangerous and most likely does not end well for you. I know this, my wife knows this. Soon they will come for us, because they don鈥檛 like what we think, and what we say. They don鈥檛 like the fact that we simply will not submit to fascist rule.鈥�
As in most such cases, the personal and the political mixes in complex fashion, saying as much about the individual as it does about any ideology he or she may follow.
Mr. Miller had a 鈥渨arrior-victim complex,鈥� says criminologist Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, where he specializes in the analysis of hate crimes, terrorism, and legal issues.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 like cops and judges to begin with,鈥� says Professor Levin, noting his previous run-ins with the law as well as his (and his wife鈥檚) emotional instability, desire to vent, estrangement from family and community, personal setbacks, and desire to take back personal pride.
鈥淲e make these offenders larger than life, when really they鈥檙e smaller than life,鈥� Levin says. 鈥淚deology becomes the springboard for somebody who is already violence-prone.鈥� That springboard, he adds, comes with an overlay of increasing violence in popular culture, as well as the attraction of achieving celebrity status 鈥� however twisted by hate, emotional instability, or mental illness that attraction might be.
It鈥檚 important to note that most people involved in the Patriot movement do not act on such beliefs in violent fashion, Levin says: 鈥淪kepticism about the government goes across the political spectrum, which is quite healthy.鈥�
The Millers鈥� rampage in Las Vegas came just five days after Attorney General Eric Holder announced that he was reviving a special unit devoted to monitoring domestic terrorism that fell dormant in the aftermath of the 2001 Al Qaeda attacks, notes Mark Potok, who runs the Hatewatch blog for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
In addition to Islamist terrorists, Mr. Holder said in a statement, "We must also concern ourselves with the continued danger we face from individuals within our own borders who may be motivated by a variety of other causes from anti-government animus to racial prejudice.鈥�
The attack in Las Vegas follows several other recent instances of domestic terrorism, says the SPLC, citing the murder in April of three people at Jewish institutions near Kansas City, Mo.; the bombing of the Boston Marathon last year; and a neo-Nazi attack on a Sikh temple in 2012.
Meanwhile, right-wing conspiracy theories continue, fueled by the talk radio that the Millers listened to.
John Avlon, Daily Beast editor in chief, notes that radio host Alex Jones claims that the Millers鈥� attack was a 鈥渇alse flag鈥� operation perpetrated by Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada.
鈥淭here is so much proof of this being staged yesterday, when I first read about it, and this morning, that my mind exploded with hundreds of data points, and quite frankly it鈥檚 conclusive,鈥� Mr. Jones told his audience. 鈥淚 kept telling, they鈥檙e getting ready to false flag, and it happens right in Harry Reid鈥檚 district, right in his state, right in his city, with his police department.鈥�
